Colombia’s second largest city has a sombre past, with strong links to the drug trade and quite notably Pablo Escobar. But, Medellín is so much more than what ‘Narcos’ may show its Netflix viewers.
Known as the city of eternal spring with plenty of personality, we fell in love with Medellín and were sad when it was time to move on. If we didn’t have a flight booked to Lima, we most certainly would’ve spent more time here.
We’ve created an updated 2024 guide for everything to do and see in Medellín.
1. Visit Comuna 13
Medellín was once known as the most dangerous city in the world, with Comuna 13 being at the centre of the violence. It blows our mind that 15 years ago, we wouldn’t have been welcome.
Today is a different story. There’s a big reason as to why visiting Comuna 13 is our number one recommendation for things to do in Medellín. It should be on everyone’s list!
Once used as a base for transporting drugs in and out of the country, Comuna 13 is now a cultural hub of art and hip hop.
The hillside barrio’s brightly coloured buildings and street art are a symbol of change for this district.
We highly recommend booking a free organised tour to explore this area of the city. We booked ours with Zippy Tour and couldn’t recommend them enough.
You can book a tour online, which are available in Spanish and English. Tours typically start at 10am or 2pm.
If you do decide to book onto a free walking tour, then we want to highlight that the guides make their living from tips. We were horrified to see people on our tour leave without tipping our guide.
From research, you should tip an average of COP $40,000 (£8.04) per person.
For more information, we’ve written a blog post about our experience in Comuna 13.
2. Ride the cable cars
Initially, the cable cars were designed as a way of connecting the locals living in the mountains to the city centre. Before, these locals would have been out of reach.
Now, they are one of Medellín’s biggest tourist attractions and provide brilliant panoramic views of the city.
If you’re staying in Medellín for a couple of days, we recommend purchasing a metro card from one of the many metro stations ticket booths (you can also top up your cards via these booths!)
A one way trip costs COP $3,280 (£0.66 GBP / $0.84 USD / €0.78 EUR) and can be used for the metro, and cable car system.
To get to the cable cars, you will need to take the Metro Line B to San Javier station.
3. Wander around El Poblado
El Poblado is known as the wealthiest district of the city, mostly due to its location being very central. It also tends to be where most tourists stay during their time in Medellín.
As this is a tourist hotspot, it is a very safe area - full of bars, coffee shops and restaurants. If you’re looking at where to stay in Medellín, we highly recommended staying in the El Poblado area.
To the locals, El Poblado is known as ‘gringolandia’ and after spending a few days here, it’s easy to see why.
4. Take a day trip to Guatapé
Just a 2 hour drive from Medellín, you’ll find the quaint town of Guatapé (and its giant rock). Located in the mountains and surrounded by beautiful reservoirs, this is a popular day trip from Medellín, due to its close proximity.
Spend time strolling down colourful streets, climbing El Penon de Guatapé, or hiring kayaks and paddle boards.
There a number of options when booking, but most people either opt for a day trip or an overnight stay.
We did an overnight stay, and to be honest, we wished we booked the day trip instead. However, if you do fancy doing some water-sports, then an overnight stay is the better option.
For more information, we’ve written a blog post about our two-day Guatapé trip.
5. Visit El Castillo Museum
In the El Poblado district lies a gothic medieval castle. Surrounded by a striking French garden, this castle was originally built in the 1930s, as a homage to the first office of architects in Medellín, H.M. Rodriguez.
Since 1972, the castle has been open to the public as a museum of fine Colombian art.
Entry to the museum in 2024 costs COP $13,000 (£2.61 GBP / $3.33 USD / €3.08 EUR) per person.
Location: Cl. 9 Sur #32-269, El Poblado, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
6. Take a stroll around Jardín Botánico
There’s nothing quite like a free activity.
Spend the morning or afternoon wandering around the Medellín botanical gardens. Alternatively, bring a book and spend the day catching up on some much needed relaxation.
There are 34 acres of garden to explore here - more than enough space to get lost exploring the lush greenery this haven has to offer.
Location: Cl. 73 #51d-14, Aranjuez, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
7. Dine in the best Restaurants and Coffee Shops
Colombia is rich in diversity when it comes to its traditional dishes. It’s hard to turn a corner without seeing a restaurant serving Arepa, or (our personal favourite) Bandeja Paisa.
In recent years, Medellín has become Colombia’s hotspot for its food and drink scene.
From coffee shops, brunch spots, and street food markets - even for us foodies, deciding where to eat was a difficult task - we were spoilt for choice.
The one thing we regret not doing in Medellín is booking on to a food tour.
There’s no better way to get a taste of the city, than being taken to local and independent spots, and trying new dishes.
GetYourGuide has a variety of tours you can do to cater for all budgets.
For more information, we’ve written a guide to the best Medellín food spots.
8. Explore Parque Arvi
If you’ve got a little extra time on your hands, and fancy a break from hustle and bustle of the city, spend a day exploring one of fifty different hiking trails in Parque Arvi.
This is another free activity (our favourite kind), however you will need to pay a small fee to use the cable cars to get there.
Although this area can be explored on your own, there are walking tours available.
9. Soak in the historical center and the Museo de Antioquia
Just a short walk from San Antonio metro station, you’ll find the historic center of Medellín.
This square is home to some of the most significant attractions of the city, including the Palace of Culture, the Museum of Antioquia, and the Plaza Botero.
On arrival, there are a number of fascinating (and slightly bizarre) sculptures belonging to the famous Colombian artist Botero.
To learn more about Botero, we recommend spending some time in the Museo de Antioquia, where you’ll find an excellent selection of his work, alongside art collections from a number of international artists.
Entry to the museum costs COP $18,000 (£3.62 GBP / $4.61 USD / €4.27 EUR) per person.
More information
Safety:
We felt very safe during our time in Medellín. This is a big city and it’s important to know which areas are safe to be walking around in.
El Poblado, Laureles, Envigado, Sabaneta, and Belén are all safe districts to visit during the day. If you are looking to book a hotel, hostel, or Airbnb, then El Poblado is our winner!
As always, we recommend taking precaution and even more so at night. Follow the necessary steps to avoid any potential threat. Take care of your valuables, and use your common sense.
Remember, Medellín is also home to less fortunate areas, and these places need to be taken seriously when visiting. Take a guided tour, and only visit in the daylight hours.
Getting around:
The metro system in Medellín is superb and easy to use. As a tourist you’ll need to buy a metro card from any one of the metro ticket booths at the stations. These white cards can be topped up using cash at the ticket booths.
Our favourite thing about the metro card was that it can be used by more than one person - as long as you have enough money on it!
A one way fare costs COP $3,280 (£0.66 / $0.84 USD / €0.78 EUR), which is more than affordable when needing to travel around this giant city.
Hostel / Hotel Recommendation:
We stayed in Medellín for a total of six nights, at the Cloud9 Hostel.
We’ve stayed in some amazing places during our time in Colombia, but this was easily our favourite.
This hostel is located only a short walk from the main street in El Poblado, and has some cute coffee shops around the corner!
For those of you looking for a quiet nights sleep, but still want to be in the heart of the city, this hostel is perfect.
For a six night stay we paid COP $133,000 (£26.44 GBP / $34.05 USD / €31.52 EUR) per night for a double en-suite room. , so do check them out HERE.
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